Sketching any time, any where, gets easier with practice. But planning for sketching helps, too.

Having materials ready means I can grab the appropriate (and/or most convenient) set-up and be ready to go at a moment’s notice.

And, having sketching materials along means I’m way more likely to sketch!

Along with some sort of sketchbook, I always have one of these kits in my pocket, purse, or backpack when I leave the house.

Micro kit: small container with eraser, pencil sharpener, half-pencil, half-watercolor pencils in primary colors, mini waterbrush, and scrap of fabric for a blotting cloth (a corner of an old washcloth works well). This kit is 4 1/4″ x 1 1/4″ x 3/4″, smaller than the palm of my hand. (See top photo.)

Mini kit: Instead of a small metal container, I use a travel toothbrush case. This can hold full-length pen, pencil, a small eraser, half-watercolor pencils, and a mini waterbrush. If I really pack it tight, I can squeeze in a small blotting cloth or a pencil sharpener.

Medium kit: I use a Derwent watercolor tin that has a removable metal tray. This enables me to fill the bottom layer with a combo of full-size and half-size pencils, pens, full-size or mini waterbrush, eraser, sharpener, blotting cloth, and odds and ends. Sometimes that’s all I bring. But, I can also include the removable tray, and layer in a lightweight plastic watercolor palette, enabling me to bring quite a lot of materials in a fairly compact container. The tin I use, when filled and closed, measures 7″ x 4″ x 1 1/2″. (See below.)

Looking for handy sketching materials of your own?
I have the mini (toothbrush holder) kits available in my online shop! Choose from a lightweight paper-back sketchbook or a hardback sketchbook with multimedia paper; all other materials are the same.

I discussed a couple of ideas for planning in the April 2016 newsletter. Those tips focused on paring down your materials to essentials and sketching from photos so you’re a little more familiar with subject matter when you sketch it in real life. Click here to read those tips. In the March 2017 newsletter, I took those ideas a step further, and discussed what, exactly, to bring along. This post is a reproduction, with slight modification, of that newsletter content.

Not all sketching plans go according to plan, and then words can play a critical role.

In May 2016, I took a trip to East Africa, working on the first international phase of my ecology storybook project: “The Ecologically True Story of the Tortoise and the Hare.” I did a lot of prep for my trip to East Africa. But of course, all kinds of situations arise which planning can’t anticipate.

In my case, half the animal duo I was looking for – hares – proved difficult to find and observe, let alone photograph or sketch. Where I was, these hares are most active at night. And, nighttime in East Africa is not a prime time for slinking about quietly with a sketchbook, hoping to spot a hare near a light source. After all, there are plenty of other animals, much larger and more dangerous, also slinking around in the night hoping to spot…dinner!

As a result, I resorted to writing. In my case, I will rely on notes hastily scribbled while hares were in view (or dashing off). For example, while I never managed to get a series of sketches of hares in motion, my notes remind me the hares in Kenya resemble foxes in both their posture and gait.

Capitalize on words to augment sketching.

Particularly when intensive observation and sketching aren’t feasible, capturing your impressions on an audio recorder or in a notebook can help you bring that experience to life later. Here are a few ideas:

3 words or phrases: After completing a sketch, augment it with three words or phrases that add information not captured in your drawing.

Fill-in-the-blank: I love the prompts from John Muir Laws and the other authors of the California Native Plant Society Field Journal Curriculum. When making sketches and observations, complete the phrases: “I noticed, I wondered, and It reminds me of…” I wrote a brief review of the CNPS curriculum in my April/May 2015 newsletter.

Questions: A key part of learning through drawing is making space in yourself for not knowing all the answers. Practice writing down your questions, and speculate about the answers. Or detail how you might go about finding the answer. Don’t stop at “what’s it’s name?” type questions. Push yourself to make connections.

Orienting information/metadata: Most research-based notes require that you include this information, and it’s a good practice for personal purposes, too. Basics include date, time, location, weather, and anything else that might help you interpret your observations.

Personal observation and reflection: Go ahead! Include your personal feelings, metaphors, and ideas. Write down the grocery list, if doing so will then free to you go back to observing lichen or birds, or whatever had caught your attention.

Sketching any time, any where, gets easier with practice. But planning for sketching helps, too.

I discussed a couple of ideas for planning in the April 2016 newsletter. Those tips focused on paring down your materials to essentials and sketching from photos so you’re a little more familiar with subject matter when you sketch it in real life. Click here to read those tips.

Let’s take those ideas a step further, and figure out what, exactly, to bring along.

Having materials ready means I can grab the appropriate (and/or most convenient) set-up and be ready to go at a moment’s notice. And, having sketching materials along means I’m way more likely to sketch!

Along with some sort of sketchbook, I always have one of the following kits in my pocket, purse, or backpack when I leave the house:

Micro kit: small container with eraser, pencil sharpener, half-pencil, half-watercolor pencils in primary colors, mini waterbrush, and scrap of fabric for a blotting cloth (a corner of an old washcloth works well). This kit is 4 1/4″ x 1 1/4″ x 3/4″, smaller than the palm of my hand. (See top photo.)

Mini kit: Instead of a small metal container, I use a travel toothbrush case. This can hold full-length pen, pencil, a small eraser, half-watercolor pencils, and a mini waterbrush. If I really pack it tight, I can squeeze in a small blotting cloth or a sharpener.

Medium kit: I use a Derwent watercolor tin that has a removable metal tray. This enables me to fill the bottom layer with a combo of full-size and half-size pencils, pens, full-size or mini waterbrush, eraser, sharpener, blotting cloth, and odds and ends. Sometimes that’s all I bring. But, I can also include the removable tray, and layer in a lightweight plastic watercolor palette, enabling me to bring quite a lot of materials in a fairly compact container. The tin I use, when filled and closed, measures 7″ x 4″ x 1 1/2″. (See image below.)

Looking for handy sketching materials of your own?

I have the mini (toothbrush holder) kits and larger kits available for purchase in my online shop! Choose from a lightweight paper-back sketchbook or a hardback sketchbook with multimedia paper; all other materials are consistent in both kits.